The Art of Problem Solving by Russell Ackoff

From this video alone I made the shift from thinking “things” as static objects to thinking about things as systems. Then I applied the mental model to the Bitcoin Systems-Thinking approach.

The first thing people do when they want to learn about Bitcoin (or any complex system) is they rush into taking it apart. They think they need to learn how to code or learn elliptic curve math. It’s not a terrible way to waste your time, but unless you’re willing to spend 5+ years on the subject it’s not going to get very close to the target.

Because,

Systems can’t be understood by taking them apart.

The book is a beautiful collection of stories, like the ones in this video that get you to think bigger, more creatively, and develop more robust mental models to better visualize the assumptions you’re making about perceived problems and solutions.